In the wake of Toni Kroos’ big money move to Real Madrid, Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola has admitted he failed in his mission to persuade the prized midfielder to stay another season at the Bundesliga club.
The 24-year-old Bayern youth academy fledgling began his rise to stardom with the German giants at a young age, having proven he possessed enough quality to make his first team debut aged just 17.
Over the subsequent seasons he went on to become one of the club’s top performers, featuring in a total of 130 games; and has also made his impact on the German national team with 51 caps gained since his senior debut in 2010.
Following several months of transfer speculation linking him to some of the Premier League’s top five, Kroos signed a six-year deal with all-stars Real Madrid last week for a fee believed to be in the region of £30m.
Having played with Bayern for eight years, the Germany star was said have developed ‘itchy feet’ and as such it is no surprise that the moment an opportunity came knocking (courtesy of Carlo Ancelotti in Madrid), Kroos jumped at the chance to join Cristiano Ronaldo and co. and play in the Spanish La Liga next season.
First team coach Guardiola told Spanish media that he had tried to talk the midfielder into staying another year with the German champions but was resigned to the fact he desired to spread his wings and move onto “new challenges.”
Guardiola, who was appointed at Bayern in 2013 following a four year spell managing Madrid rivals Barcelona, said although he did his best to keep the midfielder, he is “very happy” with his squad and not looking to make any further signings.
This summer the Spaniard has brought in three newbies; striker Robert Lewandowski, midfielder Sebastian Rode and defender Juan Bernat. He is understood to also be in the market for a back-up goalkeeper however has said this is not a priority.